Aston Villa: Reaping the rewards for giving Peace a chance

Aug 13 2009 by Mat Kendrick

ASTON Villa gave Peace a chance - and boy, how their young players took it as Martin O’Neill’s under-strength squad triumphed in a competition of contrasts.

There was the boring, tepid opening defeat against Malaga, compared to the penalty shoot-out final triumph over Juventus.

There was World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero fluffing a spot-kick against young American Brad Guzan, compared to precocious whippersnappers Barry Bannan and Shane Lowry slotting effortlessly past another Italian legend, Gianluigi Buffon.

There were the packed crowds as Real Madrid pulled in the punters in the other half of the draw, compared to Villa’s group games in front of one man and his dog in Malaga.

There was the shambolic organisation of the pre-season tournament compared to the bumper two million euro windfall the claret-and-blues pocketed for winning it.

There was the honourable intentions of the competition to promote peace compared to the uncharacteristic aggression of its champions as Martin O’Neill and Emile Heskey were sent off for warring with opponents.

There was the prospect of Villa being eliminated just days into the tournament when their fate was out of their hands compared to accepting the lifeline and never looking back. The more Villa’s squad creaked under a lack of numbers, the more they excelled.

Captain Stiliyan Petrov flies home early with a dislocated shoulder.

No problem, wing wonder Marc Albrighton comes to the fore and steals the show.

O’Neill gets red-carded for angrily shoving the ball at an Atlante opponent.